Rotterdam: The final between Australia and Belgium at the Rabobank Hockey World League tournament in Rotterdam lived up to expectations as Belgium claimed the first-ever title at the event in a dramatic nine-round shootout victory.

There was no shortage of drama in the game as Belgium came back from a one-goal deficit to take a 2-1 lead only to see it erased in the last minute by a Russell Ford strike. The shootout was no less dramatic as it took an amazing nine rounds to settle things. It was only when Chris Ciriello shot wide on the final Australian chance that the game was decided and Belgium could celebrate its first-ever title at a top-level FIH event.

India finish sixth

Meanwhile, Spain claimed a vital penalties win over India to land fifth place in Rotterdam, helping their chance of potentially claiming a lucky losers berth at the 2014 World Cup.

Roc Oliva netted the crucial final penalty after Quico Cortes had saved brilliantly from Mandeep Singh before Akashdeep Singh miscontrolled his charge. Those two misses combined to allow Spain take full advantage and win the shoot-out. The Spaniards hit the front in the second minute when Roc Oliva got on the end of Alex Casasayas simple pass for a tap-in as a flowing move eliminated the Indian defence one by one. But the game was turned on its head when the Asian side netted twice in a minute.
 

First off, VR Raghunath whipped in a pass to the right post where Shivendra Singh got a great touch to ramp the ball high into the goal. And soon after Sandeep Singh ripped in a powerful cross from the right wing which Mandeep Singh controlled at the back post and flicked home for 2-1. From there, the game got tetchy and aggressive with numerous stoppages while Quico Cortes and PR Sreejesh made good saves to keep the tie close at the break. The second half was equally tense but Spain were shading proceedings, winning four corners, none of which were converted.

They got their equaliser in the 56th minute when Davd Alegre powered his way into the circle and unleashed a powerful backhand shot that deceived the impressive PR Sreejesh. Both sides had their chances to win it in normal time, most notably when Mandeep turned home a cross from Dharamvir Singh. It was initially awarded but the video review showed it his foot, ruling out the goal two minutes from the end, meaning penalties were required.

Courtesy: www.fih.ch